New Matchbox Gallery ignites artistic discussion

By Theresa Boyer     10/1/09 7:00pm

Viewing artwork in a museum or professional gallery can often feel like a massive, collective standardized test. The Louvre holds some of the most timeless artwork on the planet, but when standing in front of the great Mona Lisa or the Venus de Milo and hearing the myriad languages being spoken by viewers, one finds that the cacophony is often little more than regurgitated phrases from the latest or most popular art history textbook.People often have preconceived notions about "correct" or "acceptable" comments that should be said about art when in actuality, and especially with postmodern work, art is created to incite discussions in multiple directions.

Rice students were given a new opportunity to expand these discussions on Tuesday with the unveiling of the student-run Matchbox Gallery, located in Sewall Hall. The gallery provides a totally nonthreatening and thoroughly fabulous location for students to view and discuss the artwork of their peers.

The idea of the gallery was first conceived when students discovered an unused office on Sewall's bottom floor. Hanszen College senior Logan Beck, the student director of the new gallery space, stated that the space will probably open new exhibitions every three to four weeks.

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The Matchbox Gallery, so named for the room's small dimensions, provides an intimate space for student artists to showcase their work. The black walls also emphasize the gallery's close, almost claustrophobic, aura.

The first show at the gallery is Wiess College senior Erin Rouse's installation, entitled To Uncle Buddy, with love. The installation involves a large number of white and blue balloons and streamers cascading haphazardly throughout the small gallery, with part of the display even wafting out of the gallery and into the courtyard.

When first viewing an installation like Uncle Buddy, viewers tend to get confused and nervous, unsure of how to respond or feel. However, the Matchbox Gallery encourages an open forum for discussions about the meaning of the art, never hinging on "right" or "wrong" interpretations. How refreshing it was to hear the crazy, yet insightful conversations occurring throughout the evening.

Comments overheard about the art ranged from "mad loads of popcorn" to a "high school prom on acid that just came out of the microwave." The fact that students felt free to make such outlandish and fun comments regarding the installation proves the success of the gallery as a place of free and open dialogue about art. Students are given an opportunity to openly express their opinions, whatever they may be, among whomever else is roaming the innards of the Matchbox. All told, the gallery had a strong element of community and communal discourse.

Through the persuasive addition of free food, the Matchbox Gallery hopes to generate more buzz and awareness among students over the next year. Beck stated that the gallery plans to use "free beer to bring people in, and art so they stay." The conversations Tuesday night were lubricated with the free Coke, and, true to Beck's word, free beer.

The small gallery provides an intimate location for students to discuss art in a forum with their friends, peers and even faculty members. However, unlike in austere locations like the Louvre, no one feels demeaned or stupid for sharing opinions of the artwork displayed. It is a fabulous thing to have the freedom to say whatever you want about a piece of art without having to worry that the person next to you is cross-referencing what you said with an art history text.

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